What are you going to take with you from COVID?
We are all on pause and for some of us the world feels like it’s just waiting and for others it feels like it’s still racing by and we are trying to do it all from home, without feeling removed, even though we are remote.
For some this is a time of reflection, for others it’s a time of holding on and hoping that the background noise in our heads is something like reflection, that will help us make sense of it all when we can take a breath and ask ourselves, what just happened?
The thing is, we have no clue. What we do have is a lot of questions and most of them unproductive, because they lead us down the wrong path of dead-end thoughts that have no answer.
Who do you want to be?
I was going to say, “who do you want to be when this is over”, but this is not going to be over, this is the beginning of next phase of our lives. We are not going to go back to the old, which is a good thing, because it wasn’t working for us as human beings. We saw changes in work/life balance, but they were small changes. COVID is giving us the opportunity to rethink how we want to live our lives, and how work is serving us on our life’s journey. We need to look at work/life quality instead and ask ourselves what matters to us and what do we need so that work and life is aligned with who we are, not a different mask we put on, when we start the work-day.
We fall back on our instinct
When we are pushed to the limit, under stress, living in fear and doubt, questioning ourselves and unsure about our circumstances and future, we can get mean or we can get vulnerable. Under stress we are driven by instinct, which is why so many work-culture are toxic.
What would it be like if you had the tools to be in better relationship with stress? If you had the tools to act purposefully and mindfully, not because you were controlling yourself and your behavior, but because you understood your emotions and instead of letting them drive your actions mindlessly, they inspired your actions?
Power-pausing
The COVID pause has shown us what we cannot control however it is also showing us what we can control.
I call it power-pausing. That small moment when we can stop for just a moment, notice how we feel, observe our triggers, listen to our thoughts and ask questions that lead us to more clarity, connection and better communication with not only ourselves, but also with others.
The first C in care is about communication. How we care starts with the relationship we have with ourselves, are we our own inner critic or inner coach? To have have more self-compassion, find clarity and connect better with other starts with pausing. The kind of pause that we choose, from here on forward.
Take a pause to care
Recently Mandy Simon, a front-line medicine practitioner, reached out to me and she asked me if I would join her efforts to give her patients and colleagues inspiration and tools to cope with COVID-19.
She said they needed confidence in a world that’s changing by the hour. Treating sick and fearful patients, she knew that they needed a visionary perspective and she reached out to global leaders to shine a light.
She continued on to say that her aim was to help people connect to their innate humanity during these times of great uncertainty.
And we all need that don’t we?
Of course I said: “yes, I would love to join you for your summit”
The summit aims to empower people, supporting them to live with purpose and overcome obstacles that would prevent their forward progress.
This online series is entitled: “Finding Your Holy Grail: Re-Aligning Goals for a New World in Business, Love, & Life” and you can join it too.
Actually I hope you will, because Mandy has gathered amazing speakers and experts, who will share their insights and expertise with you.
The conversation I will have with Mandy for this summit, is about how we can rethink self-care, so it becomes the foundation for how we can align ourselves with our goals and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.
This summit is not just for the people on the front-line however, it is for all of us who are impacted by COVID and it’s focused on helping us, as individuals, take the necessary steps forward to forming and reclaiming our lives in a new and redefined world due to the pandemic.
Finding your holy grail
Learn to live in a world that changes daily Navigate the uncertainty, conquer fear, and learn to love from afar. Starting May 18th